


Decisions, Decisions, and All of Them Wrong

by NervousAsexual



Series: Whumptober 2020 [16]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Dangerous Minds spoilers, Emotional Hurt No Comfort, Gun Violence, Hostage Situations, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Mind Control, Mindfuck, Possession, Shoot the Hostage, Wire Play, i had to physically restrain myself wrong writing the jekyll + hyde lyrics verbatim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:20:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27044143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousAsexual/pseuds/NervousAsexual
Summary: "Nick's not here, doll," he says quietly. "Nice try, though."
Relationships: Conrad Kellogg & Female Sole Survivor, Female Sole Survivor & Nick Valentine
Series: Whumptober 2020 [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1960987
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Decisions, Decisions, and All of Them Wrong

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [gdi kellogg literally did not ask](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/701374) by sillyandquiteawkward. 



> Whumptober prompt #16--shoot the hostage  
> inspired by the art of [sillyandquiteawkward](https://sillyandquiteawkward.tumblr.com/day/2016/12/25) on tumblr, specifically this:  
> 

His pipe revolver is pointed at her head and her shotgun is pointed at his. It's all wrong.

"Nick?" she asks. "Nick, this isn't funny."

A lazy half-smile crosses his face, barely visible in the shadows cast by the pink neon signs.

"Nick, talk to me. Please? Just tell me what's wrong and we can fix it. Please."

Nick leans toward her, yellow eyes emerging from the darkness, and she panics. She chambers a round. He glances down at the shotgun and his smile turns to a smirk.

"Nick's not here, doll," he says quietly. "Nice try, though."

She knows that voice. Low and rough, like sandpaper across your face.

"It's been a while, huh? Feels like we got a lot of catching up to do."

She should never have let him do this. There must have been some other way to find the Institute.

"You look nice. Lose some weight? Yeah, the Commonwealth'll do that to you."

"Go fuck yourself, Kellogg."

Nick sighs and shakes his head. "See, I would do that, but this little vault dweller broad and her pet synth did a number on my body. I can fuck Valentine, though, if you're really that set on it."

His left hand, until now supporting his bare right hand and the revolver, lets go and slides over his coat, traces the lapel up to Nick's collar. His fingers hook around the tie and tug it loose around his neck.

"Don't you dare."

"Dare what?" The fingers seem to walk up his throat like some creeping thing. The tip of his middle finger traces the edge of the hole that runs down the right side of his face. "This, maybe?" The finger slips inside and runs down a visible wire. Nick's entire body seems to shudder; the revolver swings down from her head to point at her heart. If her eyes weren't trained on his face she'd miss the look in his eyes. It's only there a second and then gone, too quickly to identify, but she thinks it might be fear.

"Get your goddamn hands off him."

"I ain't touching him." Another finger joins the first and he rubs the wire back and forth between the two. His head jerks back. His breath hitches. A low groan escapes his throat. "I thought we established that."

"You know damn well what I mean." Her jaw is clenched so tightly she can barely speak around it. "Is that what you get off on? Fucking... molesting people who can't defend themselves?"

"Is that what I'm doing?" He gives a slow, deliberate tug on the wire, eyelids fluttering. "I ain't hurting him. He's enjoying it. How much you want to bet he does the same thing to himself when he's alone? Maybe he thinks about you when he does that. Is that a compliment or not? I can't tell." With a chuckle he stills his fingers. "One thing I never did is 'molest' people, doll. But we'll see. The night's still young."

Her eyes search the alley for something to work with. The agency sign, maybe. He's standing right next to it. If she shot it out, sent the glass flying into his face and neck, it might distract him long enough to shoot him somewhere less vital. Get the gun away from him. Get him to Goodneighbor. Get him to Dr. Amari. Put Kellogg away for good.

"What're you looking for, doll?"

"Shut up." It would work if she had a rifle or a handgun but the spread on the shotgun is too big, even at this range. If she even tried she'd shoot him in the face and no matter what Kellogg had done she could not shoot Nick in the face. The guards, maybe? It was a long shot but with the climate of Diamond City being what it was they would probably side with a human over a synth and take him out. They have to come through sooner or later. If she can just stall until then, or lead him out to where there were people...

She takes a step back. He takes a step forward.

"Tell me something," he says, tracing his fingers back and forth along the jagged edge of the flesh on his throat. "What's he to you?"

"What?"

"Valentine. You hired him to find me. He found me. He's done everything you've asked but as best I can tell you never paid him."

What did that have to do with anything? "He's never asked for payment."

"Maybe he's too polite to ask. Maybe he doesn't want to make things awkward." Nick tilts his head down, his mouth and chin and nose back in shadow. "Maybe you're taking advantage of him."

"That's not true and he knows it. He's... he's my best friend, and he knows that."

"Yeah? I'm glad to hear that. Makes my work easier."

He cocks the revolver, and she chokes.

"I'm gonna give you a choice," he says. "You can shoot me or I can shoot you. Makes no difference to me. If I shoot you, you're dead. Vengeance is mine saith the lord. But if you shoot me, then yeah, I die, but so does Valentine. And he's your best friend, isn't he?" he asks, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "You wouldn't want that."

"Alright. Alright." She watches his hand settle against his shoulder. "You have my attention. What do you want?"

"Just what I said. I want you to die, or I want you to kill Valentine. I'm not picky."

"That's not... there has to be something else. You want your own body? We can go to Amari, wire you into, I don't know, some second gen body and then you can go. I won't follow you. We'll never have to see each other again."

"You think you're gonna barter with me like you do those merchants?" He nods off toward the marketplace. "Think again. I'll be inside him forever. Too late to change that." The smirk fades to a scowl. "There's no separating the two of us. Not anymore."

"You don't know that. You can't know that!"

"You don't have a goddamn clue what I know." His voice is cold enough to send shivers up and down her body.

She shakes her head because no, it's all wrong. Tears spring up in her eyes and she angrily tries to shake them away; she can't let go of the shotgun. "Dammit, Nick. I know you're still in there. I know you can hear all this. Why the hell don't you fight him?"

"I... I'm trying, kid."

Her eyes snap to his. He's shaking and there's a look on his face. Fear. "Nick?" She takes a step forward. He takes a step back. It's a waltz she knows well.

"Don't," he says, in his own voice this time. "Please. I don't know how long I can keep this up, kid. Don't make it easy on him."

"What am I supposed to do?" Her eyes blur with tears.

"I think you already know what you have to do."

"No. No! You and your goddamn self-sacrificing... Tell me what to do. Tell me how to stop him."

His voice is tight and pained. "T-there is one thing you could try."

"What?" She starts to take another step forward but catches herself. Her heart is burning in her chest. "What do I do?"

"You could... ah... you could..."

"I could what? Nick, please, I could what?"

"You could..." He leans toward her again, face suddenly expressionless, and says in the voice that's not Nick's, "You could go fuck yourself."

She sobs. "Kellogg?"

Nick just chuckles.

"I hate you so goddamn much."

"You shoulda seen your face. God, that was funnier than I thought it'd be. Thanks for that. I really needed a laugh."

"Let me talk to him. Please. You want me to beg? I'll beg. Kellogg, please, please, if you have anything in you that decent please let me talk to him. I'll do whatever you want."

"Don't think so. I'm in control now, and I ain't giving that up just so you can have your heartfelt little goodbyes. It's you or him. Your choice."

"Please..." She can barely see through the tears.

"Time's wasting. Let's give you to... count of three. After that I'll just kill you. Then I'll kill him."

"Don't," she cries.

"One..."

Even holding it with one hand his aim with the revolver doesn't waver.

"Two..."

"Please, god, don't do this, I'm begging you, whatever you want, I'll..."

"Three."

Time slows. She watches his free hand returning to the gun. She doesn't want to die. She cries and she pulls the trigger.

Her finger tightens on the trigger and as she feels its resistance give way she thinks, he hasn't shot her yet, he has to be faster on the draw than that, what if he's reaching up to push the gun away, fighting back the only way he knows how, and she's...

The shotgun goes off. The left side of his face is blasted into pieces. The force knocks him back and his body scuffs in the dirt and rolls to a stop, his face turned away.

"Nick?" she screams. She throws down the gun and runs to him. "Nick, please, I didn't mean it. I thought you were... I didn't know... were you trying to shoot me or stop him?" She drops to her knees and shakes him by the shoulder. "Please, just tell me, god, please, please, I didn't want to..."

There is no answer. Neither Nick or Kellogg have anything left to say.


End file.
